Floor structure.



R. J. DIXON. FLOOR STRUCTURE.

APPLIOATION FILED SEPT. 19, 1913.

1,077,223. Patented Oct.28,1913.

1 NE INVENTOR. -/%(Z- ffiderio/rl Dixon:

BY JYY W A TTORNE Y.

STATES A ENT RODERICK J. DIXON, OF NEW BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT.

FLOOR STRUCTURE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Got. as, rare.

Application filed September 19, 1913. Serial No. 790,670.

lumber, at the same time providing a means for laying that lumber on the sub-structure of rough flooring in such a manner that the central portions are held out of contact with the substructure, in order to prevent warping. Also, to provide means by which wear at l the edges of the floor boards is largely eliminated.

The invention is illustrated inthe drawings in which I Figure 1 is a sectional end view of a floor made in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a detail view of the supporting reinforce.

In the laying of heavy floors in mill construction, platforms, and the like, it has been customary to channel out the underside of the surface floor boards lengthwise so that they will have a bearing only along their edges, leaving the central portions free from the sub-structure of rough flooring. This is done to prevent warping of the boards. This channeling the floor boards and the necessity of selecting the boards as they are being laid, and properly positioning them with the channel side down, constitute a considerable item of expense, both in the manufacture of the stock and in laying it. It has also been found that where the floor is subjected to heavy wear, especially by wheeled trucks and the like, the edges of the boards wear away more rapidly than the central portions and in a short time an uneven surface is produced, necessitating replacement.

In accordance with my invention I have produced a device which permits of the use of plain-faced lumber which is supported along its edges so that its central portion is out of contact with the sub-structure, and which also practically eliminates wear at the edges of the boards.

My device comprises what I have called a supporting reinforce, formed from a strip of metal of uniform width, slashed at one edge at intervals, these short sections between slashes being bent at right angles to the strip and alternately on opposite sides thereof, forming a T-shaped. structure, the

body of which extends even with the surface of the flooring and supports or reinforces the edges of the lumber, while the laterally extending spaced flanges provide a support for the edges of the lumber, holding the central portions thereof out of contact with the rough flooring, producing the same effect as if the underside of the boards I were channeled, yet eliminating this expense both of manufacture and of selection and positioning in the laying of the floor.

In the drawings a denotes thesub-structure which may be of the usual construction of joists and rough planks, or rough concrete, or other material, upon which the finish floor is to be laid; b, the floor boards; and c, the supporting reinforce having the body (Z, and the laterally extending flanges e, f, which rest upon the sub-structure and support the finish floor boards along their edges.

I claim as my invention 1. In a floor structure, the combination with a sub-structure of rough flooring, of parallel rows of supporting reinforces comprising upstanding body portions provided at their lower edge with oppositely extending lateral projections resting upon said sub-structure, and finish floor boards laid between said reinforces with their longitudinal edges supported on the lateral projections thereof, the surface of said boards being substantially flush with the top of said body portions.

2. In a floor structure, the combination with the rough flooring and superposed finish floor boards, of a supporting reinforce having its body interposed between the abutting longitudinal edges of the boards, with its top substantially flush with the surface of the floor, and lateral flanges extending from either side of the lower edge of said body portion and adapted to underlie and form a support for the edges of said boards to hold the central portion thereof out of contact with the sub-structure. I

3. In a floor structure, the combination with the rough flooring and superposed finish floor boards, of a supporting reinforce having a body portionlocated between abutting longitudinal edges of said boards, with its top substantially flush with the surface of the central portion of the boards out of contact floor, the lower edge of said body being slit With the sub-struoture.

and alternately bent at ri ht an 1% to the T body portion to form flanges iprojecting RODERIGK DIXON 5 from both sides of the body portion, and Witnesses:

adapted to underlie the edges of said boards S. W. PARSONS,

and form a support therefor, to hold the H. G. HART.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

